Lost his last election, in 2011, with 36% of the vote.
Immigration October 22nd, 2001
Mr. Speaker, the so-called smart card is really a dumb card. Credit card fraud and the production of fake charge cards have been around for years. The minister's card is no innovation at all; no embedded fingerprint or iris scan in the card.
Why is the minister going to give Canada a dumb card in maybe about two years rather than a smart card right now?
Immigration October 22nd, 2001
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration made a big media splash about the maple leaf ID card for landed immigrants so that they could come and go in and out of Canada without a passport.
In typical Liberal half measure style, the proposed card is not state of the art and is in fact a low tech, easily duplicated piece of plastic that may cause more trouble than it attempts to solve.
Why did the minister not insist that the card be tamper proof?
Immigration October 18th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, the issue is safety not political correctness and systems. Canadian Alliance members are pro immigration and we believe Canada should accept its fair share of refugees, but since September 11 not much has changed at the borders. Both the head of CSIS and the RCMP commissioner told me that today in committee.
If the minister has not delivered proper security by now, what will it take? Will it take a new minister or perhaps a new government?
Immigration October 18th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration's stay the course plan, despite how the system is known to fail national security, is the ultimate Liberal denial of reality. In fact she cannot even give a number of how many have been detained.
The world is a lot more dangerous place than the Liberals are able to admit. Will the minister stop the defence of public relations exercise, get real and raise standards before raising quotas?
Citizenship and Immigration October 17th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, there is a great disconnect from what the law allows and what is actually happening in practice.
The problem is the minister fails to acknowledge the increasing pressure on our system. Our system is in fact swamped to its capacity to properly screen for safety.
When will the minister stop all these undocumented claimants without proper security clearance from just freely roaming in our society?
Citizenship and Immigration October 17th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, if we are talking about lists, the foreign affairs minister should check the U.K. and the FBI lists.
The citizenship and immigration minister's data reveals that 73 people claim refugee status every day of the year, 26,708 people last year. Many are undocumented arrivals of questionable identity and origin.
How is the system any safer today by continuing to allow the release of these surprise arrivals to just roam in our communities?
Citizenship and Immigration October 4th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, we all know the minister did not answer the question.
Under the principle of country of first safe haven, why has the minister not negotiated a bilateral agreement with the United States for us not to accept any refugees from them and they do not accept any from us? It would be an immediate big relief on resources on both sides to help keep our borders open.
Why has the minister not negotiated such a good neighbourly agreement with the United States so we both could feel much more secure?
Citizenship and Immigration October 4th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration.
Americans are very concerned about Canada's lax refugee policies. In fact for over 10 years the government has failed to determine a list of safe third countries under the Immigration Act.
A memorandum on a joint responsibility agreement with the U.S. was signed over six years ago but still has not been implemented.
Why will the government not finally determine a safe list of third countries from which we do not accept claimants?
Terrorism October 3rd, 2001
Mr. Speaker, the case has dragged on far too long. The minister can no longer blame the law of the courts. The government is accountable for the legal context in which the system operates.
Sergio Marchi said that there should be a sense of urgency rather than simply letting it languish at the bottom of the barrel. Then, as minister, Marchi did absolutely nothing. The lack of results reveals the disastrous political choices of the government.
If the minister cannot rid the country of a terrorist, how can the government claim to remove any security risk?
Terrorism October 3rd, 2001
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration. Convicted PLO terrorist Mahmoud Mohammad who shot up an airliner is still in Canada. The case reveals how inept and weak the Canadian system is. The Liberals railed against this when they were in opposition and in government they have had eight years to resolve it.
Is the minister finally going to pay particular attention to this case to show NATO and the world that Canada is not a safe haven for terrorists?